On his self-tiled debut, 20-year-old Jackson Scribner shows a remarkable talent not only for writing a solid folk song, but in harnessing a voice laden in emotion.
It’s hard not to draw parallels to Sammy Brue, another extremely talented folk/Americana wunderkind, but Scribner also manages to strike out his own unique identity on the debut, particularly on songs like the melancholy “Take Me To Your Water” or the serene “Country Road 497”. Scribner managed to impress fellow Texas Jeff Ryan (who has drummed for everyone from St. Vincent to Daniel Johnston) enough to produce the record and Jerome Brock (Cryptolog) to engineer it. Playing guitar since the age of nine, Scribner’s influences were brought in courtesy of his parents, who played a solid mix of Lyle Lovett, Niko Case, Brandi Carlisle and Hayes Carll when he was growing up – most of which can be heard in traces throughout the record.
There is a subtlety to the music here – everything from Scribner’s guitar to his voice – that allows the lyrics to take the spotlight. And lyrically, on a song like the beautiful closing track “Ain’t It Something,” or “Country Road 497” about his grandparents’ home, there is a maturity here that belies Scribner’s age. Speaking of the latter, Scribner said, “The song is about the things you have when you’re younger that you don’t expect will ever go away, the ‘it’ll be like this forever’ mentality. Then you grow up and life changes, people and places come and go, and you can really only guess what might stay in your life, you’re never really sure.”.
This eight-track effort, though slightly redundant at times because there is similar sound throughout, still houses some remarkable songs. If this debut is even a slight hint at what’s to come, Scribner is sure to be a remarkable force in the world of folk music.
Photo credit: Elaine De La Pena
